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Glite Dictionary
miles per gallon

miles per gallon

13 2.7
How far a car can travel on one gallon of fuel
  • noun
translation icon : millas por galón
  • When shopping for a car, you should consider its miles per gallon rating to save on fuel costs.
  • miles per gallon (MPG)
  • average miles per gallon
  • miles per gallon of gasoline

But what Lexus wanted you to think was three more miles per gallon.

Examples

  • Weidenbach said the Liberty would have a fuel economy rating of 22 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Between 1990 and 1995, new car fuel efficiency remained practically fixed at 28 miles per gallon.

    Academic text (1999)

  • You wanna know how many miles per gallon I get?

    I ♥ Huckabees (2004)

  • How to get a lot more miles per gallon of gas

    Blog text (31)

  • We have always been about efficiency, miles per gallon instead of top speed.

    Blog text (8)

  • And with the modifications I just made, I should be able to get better than 100 miles per gallon.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • A fuel cell vehicle operating on hydrogen would have an estimated fuel economy of 72 miles per gallon.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Why would anyone spend 40k on an electric car that gets forty miles per gallon?

    Blog text (27)

  • Under that agreement, new cars built in 2025 and after will average 54.5 miles per gallon.

    Blog text (3)

  • Consider the Toyota Prius, the gas-electric hybrid vehicle that achieves about 44 miles per gallon of gasoline.

    Academic text (2006)

Synonyms

mileage
vsmiles per gallon
  • US
34 2.9

How many miles a vehicle can travel on one gallon of fuel

is the specific rate name using distance per gallon rather than a general usage
gas mileage
vsmiles per gallon
  • US
12 3.0

The number of miles a car can drive on one gallon of fuel

is broader referring to distance per unit of any fuel not a specific one
fuel consumption rate
vsmiles per gallon
1 3.9

Amount of fuel a vehicle like a car uses for a certain distance or time

is one specific distance per fuel measure rather than a general consumption rate
gasoline mileage
vsmiles per gallon
  • US
3.2

How many miles a car can travel on one gallon of gas

is the general unit showing distance per any fuel type rather than only gasoline
L/100 km
vsmiles per gallon
  • Australian
6.5

The number of liters of fuel a vehicle uses to travel one hundred kilometers

is the same measurement idea but uses a different unit system
liters per hundred kilometers
vsmiles per gallon
  • UK
3.5

How many liters of fuel a car uses to drive 100 kilometers

is the same measurement but expressed in a different unit system

Surface Forms

miles per gallon singular
miles per gallons plural

Morphology

mile + per + gallon

The phrase directly composes known units: 'mile' (distance) + 'per' (for each/unit) + 'gallon' (volume), so the meaning 'distance traveled for each gallon of fuel' is immediately derivable from the constituents. This rate construction (X per Y) is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the words should understand the MWE.

Etymology

Miles per gallon gives a simple image: how many miles a car can travel with one gallon of fuel. So a higher number means better 'fuel efficiency' because the car goes farther before needing more fuel.